Wire bending machine



Dec. 1, 1931. POOLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet l 3mm fora 6: Role 1931. E. POOLE WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 1, 1931. E, POOLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet 3 i: a, rt

Dec. 1, 1931. P OLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 1, 1931. PQOLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 1, 1931. POOLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 1386- 1931- 1.." E. POOLE WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet '7 fora, 5: Hale Dec. 1, 1931. E. POOLE WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 l1 Sheets-Sheet 8 Zara Poole Mkfl/ wg w Dec. 1, 1931. L. E. POOLE 1,334,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 Dec. 1, 1931. POOLE 1,834,733

WIRE BENDING MACHINE -6 4Q fly 3mm 7.4 V cm a Poole Dec. 1, 1931.

L. E. POOLE WIRE BENDING MACHINE Filed June 19, 1929 ll Sheets-Sheet ll Y A TY gwouvtov' fora 6'. P001 e Patented D... 1, 1931 uNrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE LORA E. POOLE, ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASBIG-NOB TO DEMO-Rm CORPORATION,

OF ANDERSON, RS'DIANA, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE WIRE BEN'DING ILCEINE Application filed June 18,

I This invention relates to the manufacture of armatures for dynamo electric machines and more particularly to the manufacture of single turn bar conductors for electric motors. Such conductors are commonly known as hairpin conductors.

One object of the. present invention is to provide an improved machine for manufacturing hairpin conductors from lengths of wire cut offautomatically from a strip of wire which is fed automatically to the machine from a supply reel. More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide certain improvements in the type of machine shown in the Patent #1,! 21,810 issued July 23, 1929, to John J Carter. The Carter machine provides for automatically carr ing out a method of forming hairpin con uctors which comprises bending an in- 2 termediate portion of a strip of wire in one plane to produce approximately the desired configuration of the hairpin yoke as it appears in the plan view of the conductor and to produce a spacing of the hairpin branches which approximates the spacing of the branches of the completed conductor, the plan view being a view normal to a plane containing the branches, and bending said intermediate portion transversely to the first mentioned plane of bending in order to produce the desired configuration of the hairpin yoke as it appears in the end view of the conductor. The first bending operation may be termed coplanar since the various parts of the wire remain in the same plane after the bending operation. The second bending operation is termed lateral to denote displacement of parts of the wire laterally from the plane of the first bending operation.

More specifically it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide certain improvements in the mechanism for bending the intermediate portion of the strip of wire in one plane in order to produce the desired 1929. Serial No. 372,144.

configuration of the hairpin yoke as it appears in the plan view of the conductor, the purpose of these improvements being to obtain a construction whereby the bending dies will wear out least rapidly.

A further object of the invention is to improve the wire cutting mechanism in order that the ends of the hairpin branches will be pointed for the purpose of facilitating the assembling of the hairpin with an armature core.

A further object of the invention is to improve the mechanism for automatically feeding the wire from the supply reel to the bending machine.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein-a preferred embodiment of one form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows the first step in the present method of forming a hairpin conductor.

Figs. 2 and 3 are plan and end views, re spectively, of the completed hairpin conductor.

Fig. 4 includes a view similar to Fig. 3 of the hairpin and fragmentary end view of an armature core and commutator, illustrating the manner of assembling the conductor upon the core and of attaching the leads of the conductor to the commutator.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the side elevation of a machine for forming hairpin conductors according to the method shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 5a is a fragmentary view of a part of the mechanism looking in the direction of arrow 5a of Fig. 5.

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are fragmentary perspective views of the machine in difierent positions of operation.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the coplanarv bending dies disassociated from the machine.

Fig. 11 is'a cross sectional view of the mac ine showing the side elevation of the wire feeding mechanism, cut-01f and bending mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a side view looking in the direction of arrow 12 in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on a horizontal plane including the line 1313 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 14 is a front perspective view of one of the movable die members and shows the hairpin in position thereon.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing a top view of the stationary die member and a portion of the mechanism for clamping the hairpin conductor branches against the sides of the stationary die memer.

Figs. 16, 17 and 18 are front, side and bottom views respectively of the stationary die member. 4

Fig. 19 is a sectional view on the line 19-19 of Fig. 16.

Fig. 20 is a plan view of the feeding mechanism and is shown separate from the machine for bending the wire.

Fig. 21 is a sectional View on the line 21-21 of F ig. 20.

Fig. 22 is a sectional of Fig. 21.

Coplanar bending mechanism I View on the line 22-22 Referring to the Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. the method illustrated in the present application consists in forming from a length of wire an open loop or hairpin conductor 30 shown in Fig. 1 having branch portions 31 and. 32 joined by a V-shaped yoke 33. The branches and yoke will occupy the same plane. The conductor shown in Fig. 1 is formed between die members into the conductor 34 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Branch 31 has been formed into an inductor portion 35 and the branch 32 has been formed into an inductor 37. The V-shaped yoke 33 has been formed into relatively ofi'set portions 39 and 40 which are substantially arcuate as viewed in Fig. 3.

During the first bending step, the result of which is shown in Fig. 1, the intermediate portion of the strip of wire is bent in one plane to produce approximately the desired configuration of the hairpin yoke as it appears in the plan view of the conductor. During the second step in the bending method, resulting in the shape shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this intermediate portion is bent transversely or laterally to the first mentioned plane of bending in order to produce the desired configuration of the hairpin yoke as it appears in the end view of the conductor. It will be noted that the yoke has been bent in such manner that the hairpin branches 35 and 37, which extend respectively from the yoke portions 39 and 40, are so located that the flat sides of the branch portions lie in intersecting planes, the intersection of which is more remotely spaced from the branch 37 than from the branch 35; therefore when the hairpin conductor is assembled with the armature core 41 as shown in Fig. 4, the yoke portions 39 and 40 will lie substantially concentric to the periphery of the core as viewed in Fig. 4 and the branch portion 35 will occupy part of a core slot nearer to the axis of the core than a portion of the core slot occupied by the branch portion 37. In this way the present method provides for forming a single turn or hairpin conductor adapted to be assembled with others upon an armature core so that each core slot will be occupied by active coil sides of two different armature conductors.

Referring to Fig. 4, the conductor 34 is shown assembled upon an armature core 41 with the inductor branches 35 and 37 occupying slots 42 and 43 respectively. As shown in Fig. 4, the inductor 35 will occupy the bottom portion of the slot 42 and inductor 37 will occupy the outer portion of the slot 43. The lead 36 of the branch 35 is afterwards displaced from the branch 35 so as to be located adjacent the slot 44 in the riser of commutator bar 45 and is moved into the position 36'5 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4 by bending the portion 36a of the hairpin 34 which connects the inductor portion 35 with the lead 36. The lead 38 of the branch 37 is connected in like manner with the slotted riser portion 38b of the commutator bar 46.

A machine for carrying out the method shown in Figs. 1 to 3 consists chiefly, of means for forming a hairpin conductor having its branch and yoke portions occupying the same plane, and means for forming such a conductor into a single turn bar winding or hairpin conductor having parallel inductor portions, adapted to be located in radially disposed slots in an armature core. In other words, the machine performs two forming operations upon a piece of wire during each cycle of movement.

Referring to Figs. 5 to 11, the mechanism for performing the first operation illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a stationary die member 50 and parts associated therewith and a movable die member which is operated by a powerdriven mechanism. The means for performing the second operation illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 includes the stationary die member 50 and a second movable die member 120 also actuated by power driven mechanism.

The stationary die member 50 is attached to a supporting base 51 also attached to the vertically arranged bed 52 of a horizontal punch press frame 53 mounted on a stand 54. The die 50 is provided with forming surfaces 55 and 57 for forming respectively the inductor .portions and 37. The die member 50 includes surfaces 59 and 60 for receiving and forming the yoke portions 39 and shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The portions 55 and 57 are bordered by ledges 61 and 62 respectively, to assist in reventing displacement of the material 0 the conductor during the forming operation. The die 50 and base 51 are provided with aligned orifices 63 and 63a and aligned orifices 64 and 64a for the purpose of receiving ejector members to be described later. The die 50 is provided with downwardly converging plane surfaces 65 and 66 which merge into parallel plane portions 67' and 68 at the corners 67 a and 68a respectively.

Referring to the Figs. 6, 10 and 11, the die member 70 is provided with a notch 7 0a for receiving the lower portion of die 50 and for causing a strip of wire A to be bent around the surfaces 65 and 66 and the corners 67a and 68a of the die 50. The die 70 is provided with a shank 71 which slides through a recess 72 in a vertically movable slide 74 providing a notch 74a, for receiving the die 7 0. A spring 73 surrounds the shank 71 and is confined within the recess 72, and the shank 71 provides a shoulder 710 which rests upon the spring 73. A collar 71b is attached to the lower end of the. shank 71 and limits upward movement of the die relative to the slide 74. The slide provides notches 372 and 373 for receiving the wire A during the upward movement of the die 70 toward the die 50. The slide 73 carries pivoted hardened steel rollers 367 and 368 which engage the wire A when the die 70 moves against the die 50 and iron the wire around the die corner edges 67a and 6811 respectively, while the die 70 yieldably forms the wire about the surfaces 65 and 66 of die 50 due to the force applied through the spring 73.

The mechanism for actuating the die 70 is shown more clearly in Figs. 5a and 11 and includes a slide 74 supported for vertical sliding movement by a bracket 75 attached to the block 51. Slide 74is provided with a handle 76 having an oblong hole 77 which receives the end 7'9 of a lever 80 attached to a shaft 81 carrying arm 82 which is attached by a link 83 to a cam follower plate-84 (see Fig. 5a). Plate 84 carries cam rollers 85 and 86 cooperating respectively with cams 87 and 88 which are attached to the main drive shaft 89.. Clockwise rotation of the cam 88 will cause the link 83 to move to the left in Fig. 5a and the slide 74 and die 70 to move upwardly. Return movement of the die 70 is produced by the operation of the'cam 87 upon follower 85, and this return movement is assisted by a spring 90 (see Fig. 11) which is maintained in a state of compression between a flange 91 and the perforated end 92 of a tubular spring case 93. The case 93 is attached by a strap 94 to a cross bar 95 carried by the stand 54. The flange 91 is attached to the lower end of a rod 96, the upper end of which is received by notch 78 in the lower end of handle 76 of slide 74 and is pivotally attached thereto by a pin 96a.

The mechanism shown particularly in Figs. 10 and 15 for temporarily clamping the branches of the hairpin against the sides of the block 50 as shown in Fig. 7, comprises a stationary clamping member provided by the upper end of the block 50 and adapted to cooperate with movable clamping levers 101 and 102. The levers are pivoted upon pins 103 and 104, respectively, attached to the block 50. Lever 101 is maintained in clamping position, as shown in Fig. 15 by means which include a spring 105 located between a flange 106, and the perforated end 107 of a spring tube 108. The tube 108 is connected by clip. 109 with the arm 101. The flange 106 is connected with a rod 110 having a threaded part 111 passing through a notch 112 in a plate 113 attached to the bed 52 and cooperating with a block 114 providing a nut threaded on part 111. By turning the nut 114 the compression of spring 105 is adjusted, and hence the regulation of the clamping pressure at the parts 101 and 31'. The branch 32 of the conductor as shown in Fig. 1 is clamped as shown in Fig. 15 between the block 50 and the clamping arm 102 and is maintained by a spring device like the one which cooperates with the lever 101. I

Means are provided for moving the arms 101 and 102 into a non-clamping position as shown in Fig. 6 and for holding them in this position until the operation of laterally bending the wire has been performed. as

shown in Fig. 8. The device for moving these arms into non-clamping position includes two blocks 121 and 122 adjustably secured to the die member 120 and adapted to engage respectively stubs 121a and 122a of arms 101 and 102 respectively in order to move them as shown in Fig. 8 from the position shown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 6 or into dotted line positions 101a and 102a shown in Fig. 15. This movement of the arms 101 and 102 causes a substantially triangular shaped separator 123 to drop between the arms 101 and 102 when they are in the position 1010. and 102a indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 15. The separator 123 is mounted on the lower end of the bracket 124 which is pivotally supported by a bar 125 pivotally attached at 126 to a block 127 carried by the bed 52.. -The bar 125 is yieldingly urged toward the it is apparent that upward movement of the slide 74 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7 will cause the post 129 to engage the block 128 thereby moving bar 125 from the position shown 1n Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7. This movement causes the separator 123 to move away from the plane of arms 121 and 122, and the springs 105 to be released and to return the arms 101 and 102 to the positions shown in full lines in Fig. 15. Therefore it is apparent that the movement of the slide 74 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7 causes a portlon of the wire stock A (severed from a suppl length by means to be described) to be received by the grooves 372 and 373, and cause it finally to be bent around the lower surfaces 67a, 65, 66 and 68a of the die member 50 as shown in Figs. 7, 11 and 16. As the branches 31 and 32 are moved against the block 50, the arms 101 and 102 are released by the separator and are moved toward the block 50 to clamp the conductor branches 31 and 32 against it as shown in Figs. 7 and 15.

Lateral bending wwckam'sm The lateral bending of the work to shape it as shown in Figs. 3 and 2 is performed by the die members 50 and 120. The die member 120 is provided with a recess 130 for re-' ceiving the die 50 and is provided with surfaces 135, 139, 140, 137 and which cooperate respectively with the surfaces 55, 59, 60, 57, of die 50 in order to form conductor portions 35, 39, 40, 37, respectively. As shown in Fig. 14, the parts 35, 39, 40 and 37 of, the hairpin are located against and hide the surfaces 135, 139, 140 and 137 respectively.

Referring to Fig. 5a the die 120 is actuated by the shaft 89 having a crank not shown connected with a link 141 having a ball and socket connection at 142 with a horizontally sliding block 143 to which the die 120 is detachably secured.

Hairpin ejecting device In order that the hairpin conductor 34 will automatically fall out of the machine after it has been completed, means are provided for transferring the hair pin 34 from the die 50 to the die 120 from which the hairpin 34 is ejected by arms 147 and 149 extending laterally from a bracket 148 attached to die 50 and arranged to engage the branches 35 and 37 of the hairpin 34 as the die 120 recedes from the die 50 as shown in Fig. 9. Referring to Fig. 13, this transferring device includes two ejectors 150 and 151 which are provided at their outer ends with surfaces 152 and 153 which receive the work and thercfore conform with the surfaces 55 and 57 respectively, of the die 50. The ejector 150 is received b Y the aligned holes 63, and 63a shown in Fig. 19, and ejector 151 is received by the holes 64, and 64a. The ejectors 150 and 151 extend from rods 154 and 155 supported by a bracket 156 attached by screws 157 to the bed 52. The punch press frame 53 is provided with an opening 53a for receiving the bracket 156. The rods 154 and 155 are provided With'hexagonal heads 154a and 155a which are received by the T-slot 158 of a bar 159 which is attached in similar fashion to a rod 160 which is slidably supported by the bracket 156, extends through the bracket 156 and is provided with a notch 161 defining a projection 162. The rods 154, 155 and 160 are maintained normally in position shown in Fig. 13 by means which includes a spring 163 confined between a flange 164 and the perforated end 165 of a sprin tube 166 supported by a bracket 167 which is attached by screw. 168 to the machine frame 53. The tube 166 is secured in various positions of adjustment by a set screw 169. Flange 164 is attached by a rod 170 to the bar 159, and bar 159 is secured in various positions of adjustment longitudinally of the rod 170 by adjusting nuts 171 and 172. Motion of ejectors 150 and 151 to the left in Fig. 13 by virtue of the action of the spring 163 is limited by stop flanges 154?; and 1556 striking the ends of the recess provided in the bracket 156 for these flanges.

Motion of the slides 150 and 151 toward the right in Fig. 13 or in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 in order to transfer the work from the die 50 to the die 120 occurs when the die 120 recedes to the right from the block 50. The device for producing this latter motion of slides 150 and 151 includes a lever 180 pivoted upon a block 181 attached to the slide 143. The lever 180 is maintained in normal position by a spring 183 which bottoms in a recess 184 in slide 143 and presses againstthe lever 180. Lever 180 includes a hook member 186 adapted to be received by the recess 161 of rod 160 and to engage projection 162. As die 120 moves toward the left from the position shown in Fig. 7 toward the position shown in Fig. 8, an extension 187 of lever 180 strikes the camming surface 188 of a block 189 which is adjustably secured to the bar 190 attached by screws 191 to the machine frame. The cooperation of parts 187 and 188 causes the hook portion 186 to be moved away from the slide 143 so that the hook 186 will move free of the projection 162. At the end of the movement of die and lever 180 toward the left, as shown in Fig. 8, the projection 187 will be free of the block 189 so that the spring 183 will cause the hook 186 to move into the notch 161. Consequently, subsequent movement of the slide 143 to the right will cause the hook 186 to engage the projection 162 and cause the ejectors 150 and 151 to move to the right as viewed in Fig. 13, thuscausing the formed conductor 34 to be transferred from the die 50 to the die 120. Further motion of the slide 143 to the right causes the extension 187 of lever' 180 to strike the camming face 188 of block *189 and causes the hook to move again awa from the slide 143. Therefore the hook will disconnected from the projection 162, by the time the ejectors 150 and 151 have moved sufliciently to transfer the work from the die 50 to the die 120. As soon as the projection 162 is released from the hook 186 the spring 163 will return the ejectors 150 and 151 to normal position. After the work has been transferred in this manner it will be located upon the die 120, as shown in Fig. 14. Still further movement of the slide 143 to the right from the position shown in Fig. 8 toward that shown in Fig. 9 will cause the ends of the conductor branches 35 and 37 to be engaged by the arms 149 and 147 of bracket 148, thereby causing the conductor to be freed from the die 120 and to drop into the upper end of a chute 400, the lower end of which is shown inFig. 5.

A flywheel pulley 200, loosely mounted upon the shaft 89 and driven by a suitable motor, is drivingly connected with the shaft 89 by a suitable clutch mechanism, not shown, which is operated by a lever 201.

Wire feeding mechanism The mechanism for feeding the wire to the bending machine will now be described with reference to Figs. 5, 11, 20, 21 and 22. To the vertical bed 52 of the punch press there is attached a frame 210 supported from the fioor by pedestal 211. Screws 212 attach to the frame 210, a pair of brackets 213 providing bearings for a pivot in 214 extending through the hub 215 of a ell crank lever having arms 216 and 217.. Arm 216 is connected by ball and socket joint connection with a link 218 which is pivotally connected by pin 219 with a forked block 220 which in turn is pivotally connected by a crank pin 221 with a crank 222 rotatable with the punch press shaft 89. The throw of the crank pin 221 is adjustable by making the crankpin 221 adjustable along -'a slot 223 provided by the crank arm 222. By tightening a nut 224 cooperating with the threaded outer end of, the crank pin 221, the pin 221 is secured in adjusted position.

The bell crank lever arm 217 is connected by link 230 with a pin 231 which joins together toggle links 232 and 233. Link 232 is journalled on a pin 234 which is supported by arm 235 and 236 attached by bolts 237 to a slide bar 238 having a channel groove of dove tail cross section for receiving a similarly formed guide lug 239 integral with the frame 210. The toggle link 233 is pivotally connected by pin 240 with a pressure block 241. which is guided for movements parallel to itself by providingit with parallel elongated slots 242, each receiving a pin 243.

clockwise, the toggle links 232 and 233 will I be moved toward the position shown in Fig. 22 in order to release the wire.

, This movement of these links is assisted-by springs 244 which press against a plate 245 which in turn presses against the pressure block 241. The slide 238 carries a hardened metal wear plate 246 against which the wire is clamped.

During the movement of the slide block 238 toward the observer as viewed in Fig. 5 or toward the right as viewed in Figs. 11 and 20, the wire will be prevented from backing up by causing it to be clamped between a block 250 and the end 251 of a lever 252 pivoted upon a pin 253 supported by a bracket 254 and carrying a roller 255 actuated by cam 256 connected with shaft 89 and urged toward the cam by a spring 257. The cam 256 is shaped so that the lever end 251 will not engage the wire while the slide 238 is moving toward the left as viewed in Figs. 11 and 20 oFr away from the observer when viewing is the wire A is fed under the die 50 it is guided by a notched block 260. As the free end of the wire A moves toward the left, it will strike the incline surface 261 of a guide block 262 and will ride up the block until it enters the flaring notch 263 provided by the block 262. The notch 263 in the block 262 is in alignment with the notch in the block 260, and both notches are in the vertical plane of the notches 372 and 373 of the block 74. In this manner the wire A is positioned directly above the rollers 367 and 368 befone being engaged by the die 7 O. The wire A is not accidentally jarred from this position between the instant it is severed from the supply wire and the instant it is engaged by the forming die 70 because the wire is cammed by the block 262 into an inclined position wherein the wire is wedged at its intermediate portion against the lowest edge of the forming die 50, its ends engaging the block 262 and the shear block 270 where it iscut off. This position of wire A is shown in Figs. 6 and 11.

Wire cutting mechanism the severed ends of the wire as indicated by numerals 31 and 32 in Fig. 7. The movable shear block 271 is supported by a. plate 272, which is guided fora vertical movement by a support 273 attached by screws. 274, to the frame 52. The plate 272 is pivotally connected by a pin 275 with a toggle link 276. Link 276 is ivotally connecte y a in 277 with a forke member 278 and a secon toggle link 279. The link 279 is pivotally connected by pin 280 with a plate 281 received by a recess 282-in support 273. The plate 281 is secured in adjusted position by screws 285 assing through a 'slot 286, in the plate 281.

he plate 281 may be pushed downwardly b turning a screw 287 threaded through the support 273 and adapted to bear agamst the upper end of the plate 281. The forked member 278 is attached to a rod 288 which is received in notch 289 in a bracket 290 which is attached to the reciprocating member 143 which supports the movable die 120. The rod 288 carries a collar 291, and is surrounded by a spring 292 bearing at one end against the collar 291 and at the other end against a bracket 293, provided with a hole through which the rod 288 extends, as shown in Fig. 5.

Normally the spring 292 operates to move the rod 288 toward the left in order to urge the toggle links 276 and 279 into the position shown in Fig. 7 and hence to separate the shear member 271 from the shear member 270. While the reciprocating member 143 is moving toward the position shown in Fig. 6, the feeding mechanism 0 crates to feed the wire from the position s own in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 6. Before the end of the movement of the member 143 toward the right, the bracket 290 will engage the collar 291 on the rod 288 and will cause the rod to be moved into the position shown in Fig. 6, thereby causing the tog le links 276 and 279 tobe located more neariy in alignment and thereby causing the shear member 271 to move downwardly and to cooperate with the shear member 270 in severing the wire and pointing the severed ends thereof.

Mode of operation While the reciprocating head 143 is moving away from the frame 52 to carry the die 120 away from the die 50, the wire A is fedinto the position shown in Figs. 6 and 11, which may be taken as home position at the end of a cycle of movement of the machine. Then the frame 74 moves upwardly as shown in Fig. 7 to cause'the die 7 0 and the rollers 367, 368 to en age the wire and bend it around die 50 to orm it as shown in Fig. 1. After the branches 31 and 32 of the wire have been formed against the surfaces 67 and 68 of the die 50, the clamps 101 and 102 are released to clamp the branches 31 and 32 in position as shown in Figs. 7 and 15. This is followed by movement of the die 120 into the position shown in Fig. 8 wherein the hairpin is formed as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 between the dies 120 and 50. As the die 120 approaches the position shown in Fig. 8, the bars 121 and 122 engage the clamps 101 and 102 to move them out of clamping engagement with the formed hairpin branches 35 and 37. As the head 143 moves away from the die 50 the ejectors 150 and 151 are operated to cause the hairpin to be disengaged from the die 50 and to travel with the die 120 until the hairpin branches 35 and 37 are engaged by the stops 147 and 149 as shown in Fig. 9; and further movement of the die 120 away from the die 50 will y result in the hairpin bein released from support by the die 120 an gravity into the chute. During this movement of the die 120 wire is being fed so that the wire A will have arrived in the position shown in Fig. 6 at the end of the cycle.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope .of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, coplanar bending means for bending a strip of wire substantially as it appears in the plan view ofthe conductor and its descent by comprising a die having hairpin branch re-' ceiving surfaces connected by a hairpin yoke receiving surface, a movable die for clamping the wire against the yoke receiving surface, and means movable relative to the clamping means for forming the wire around the corners joining the yoke receiving surface with the branch receiving surfaces; and means for laterally bending the work to form the hairpin as it appears in the end view thereof, said means including a movable die which moves the work along the branch and yoke receiving surfaces ofthe first mentioned die, and forming means cooperating therewith and having die portions bordering said branch and yoke receiving surfaces.

2. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized by having rollers which engage the wire to roll it around the corners oining the yoke receiving surface with the branch receiving surfaces.

3. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized by having a reciprocating member which carries the clamping die and is movable relative thereto and provides means for forming the wire around the corners joining the yoke receiving surfaces with the branch receiving surfaces, and spring means transmitting pressure from the member to the clamping die.

4. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized by having a reciprocating member which carries the clamping die and is movable relative thereto and which carries rollers for engaging the wire to roll it upon the branch receiving surfaces of the first mentioned die, and which carries a spring for transmitting pressure from the reciprocating member to the clamping die.

5. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, coplanar bending means for bending a strip of wire substantially as it appears in the plan view of the conductor and including a die member movable parallel to the plane of coplanar bending; and means for laterally bending the work to form the hairpin as it appears in the end view thereof, and including a member movable normal to the plane of coplanar bending; a reciprocating device moving parallel to the plane of coplanar bending and at right angles to the movable laterally bending die for gripping and feeding the wire toward the bending dies; means guiding said device for movement at right angles to the movement of the lateral bending movable die and parallel to the plane of coplanar bending; and power means for operating the wire feeding device and bending dies. r

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which the wire feeding device comprises a reciproeating plate for receiving the wire and means for clamping the wire to the plate, and a power operated mechanism causing the clamping means to operate to clamp the wire against the plate and the plate to be moved toward the bending dies.

7. A machine according to claim 5 in which the wire feeding device comprises a reciprocating plate for receiving the wire, a member for clamping the wire to the plate, a toggle-joint device supported entirely by the plate for causing the clamp to function when the toggle-joint is straightened, and a member attached to the toggle-joint for causing the clamp to function and thereafter causing the plate to move toward the bending dies.

8. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, coplanar bending means for bending a strip of wire substantially as it appears in the plan view of the conductor and including a die member movable parallel to the plane of coplanar bending; and means for laterally bending the work to form the hairpin as it appears in the end View thereof, and including a member movable normal to the plane of coplanar bending; a reciprocating device moving parallel to the plane of co planar bending and at right angles to the laterally movable bending die for gripping and feeding the wire toward the bending dies; means guiding said device for movement at right angles to the movement of the lateral bending movable die and parallel to the plane of coplanar bending; means for retaining the wire against movement away from the bendmg dies when the reciprocating device moves away from the bending dies; and power means for operating the wire feeding device, bending dies, and wire retaining means.

9. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, relatively movable coplanar bending dies; lateral bending dies having relative movement at right angles to the plane of coplanar bending; a wire cutter and a togglejoint device for operating the same; and a reciprocating member for carrying a lateral bending die and for operating the togglejoint device. I

10. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprlsing, in combination, coplanar bending means for bending a strip of wire substantially as it appears in the plan view of the conductor and including a die member movable parallel to the plane of coplanar bending; and means for laterally bending the work to form the hairpin as it appears in the endview thereof,

and including a member movable normal to the plane of coplanar bending; a reciprocating device for gripping the wire in the direction of movement toward the bending dies; means guiding said device for movement at right angles to the movement of the lateral bending movable die and parallel to the plane of'coplanar bending; means for cutting the wire operated. by the movable lateral bending die member; and power means for operating the feeding means and bending dies.

11. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, relatively movable coplanar bending dies; lateral bending dies having relative movement at right angles to the plane of coplanar bending; means for transferring the hairpin from the relatively stationary to the relatively movable lateral bending die; and means for positively limiting movement of the hairpin away from the stationary lateral bending die member as the movable lateral bending die member recedes therefrom, whereby the hairpin will be removed from said movable die member.

12. A machine for making hairpin conductors from strips of wire comprising, in combination, relatively movable coplanar bending dies; lateral bending dies having relative movement at right angles to the plane of coplanar bending; means for transferring thehairpin from the relatively stationary to the relatively movable lateral bending die; and members for engaging the hairpin branches to remove the hairpin from the movable lateral bending die as the latter recedes from the stationary lateral bending die.

13. A wire feeding device comprising a reciprocating carriage, a relatively stationary gripper plate attached to the carriage, a relatively movable gripper plate guided by the carriage for reciprocating movement toward or away from the stationary plate, springs urging the movable plate away from the stationary plate, a air of toggle links pivotally attached rospectlvely to the Carriage and t9 the movable gripper plate and pivotally connected together, and an operating member attached to the pivotal connection of the two toggle links.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my sig- 10 nature.

LORA E. POOLE. 

